Practicing Abandonment

        Every time you address God as "Lord," pray the Our Father and say "your will be done," or petition "Lord, have mercy" at Mass and really mean it, you practice abandoning yourself to God and will find rest in him.

Tremendous Responsibility

        Communion thought. Since God has entered me, I bear the tremendous responsibility to make sure that his dwelling within me be comfortable and enjoyable. 

Humbling Love

        In today's Gospel reading from John 15, Jesus said to his disciples, "As the Father loves me, so I love you. Remain in my love. I have told you this so that your joy might be complete." Jesus actually telling us that he loves us! ~ this should bring us great joy. When other humans tell me that they love me, I would feel that I am in demand and get a big boost in my self-esteem. But when the Lord tells me that he loves me, I actually feel humbled because we have the Mighty One loving a weakling or the Holy One loving a sinner.

No Escape from God

        Since God has created all things, and we are nothing without him, we might as well put our trust in him in all things from start to finish. This is being plain sensible and realistic.

Our Move

        God has offered us salvation. Christ came and died in our place, so the work had been done. The next move is ours. We must be willing to accept the good news and believe in it. And the Lord is waiting. The correct use of our free will is to choose eternal life for the glory of our creator. It's that simple.

The Lord Seeking Union

        Two verses of the Gospel reading from John 15 formed today's Gospel acclamation: Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord, whoever remains in me will bear much fruit. Jesus invites us to remain in him. As if this is not beautiful enough, he wants to remain in us! To be in each other is to be one, so the Lord is seeking union with us here. Naturally, in union much fruit will be produced.

Jesus, Our Only Hope

        Look around the world. In the Mideast, it's more like everyone fighting for everyone else, with almost all the Arab nations getting into action. Europe and America will certainly get themselves more involved, once terrorists step up their attack within those countries. And there are a host of African and Asian nations, Mexico, Ukraine . . . each engaging in its own war. Already millions of homeless refugees have been created worldwide, not to mention the vast number of casualties. We are truly facing a monumental humanitarian crisis, while committing moral suicide! The present chaos is in a way messier that the World Wars of the past, for it can potentially spread across the entire globe. At a time like this, Jesus messages stand out: "Do not judge," "Love your enemies," "Be humble" ~ these are just the few that came first to my mind. It's absolutely clear that following his words will bring us peace, but what are the chances that people will listen? Evil is real and judgment, unavoidable. I hope that the worst in some will bring out the best in others. It's time to pray, pray, and pray hard. 

Perfect Union

        Do everything for the sake of attaining union with God; then in union, God does whatever he wishes through you.

Banishing the Ego

        God wants us to mind our own business, that is, we are to do our part in serving God as best as we could and not be concerned about the outcome or what people think of us. This is the way to keep our mind uncluttered and our heart in peace.  

Getting off the Hook

        Communion thoughts. When we received the Holy Eucharist and abandon ourselves to God, we feel free. That's because abandonment gets us off the hook, you might say, as we now simply follow God, not having to decide where to go anymore. We must know that God is trustworthy and wants to make things easy for us always.

Banishing Our Worst Fear

        The human fear we should fear the most has to be that of losing our soul. The good news is that our soul is most precious to God our Father. So when we surrender to him, we become his children and no evil can possibly take our souls away from him anymore. The best deals we can only get from God.

The Good News!

       In today's first reading from Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas proclaimed the good news to the city of Derbe. This good news has to be the best news we can ever have: that we can get our sins forgiven and enjoy eternal life with our Father in heaven! It remains fresh, for truth does not change ~ but we must also be aware that we have only this lifetime to make the good news good for us.  

The Numbing of Conscience

       This morning on BBC News, it was somewhat of a shock to read this report on the Syria conflict: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32581007. Next I saw and read this news story on the Met Ball and got almost another shock because it contrasted so sharply to the first report: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-32586993. 

God Has Set the Standard

        Jesus has commanded us to love even our enemies, showing God's greatest love by dying on the cross himself for all of us. Therefore, any religion that teaches otherwise or falls short of this standard could not have been originated by God.

The Spirit of Harmony

        When we let the Holy Spirit fill us, we become obedient to God. Our heart hears him speaking to us and we follow what he prompts us to do. We are in perfect harmony with God. The Holy Spirit makes this ideal state real for us.

Thought Discernment

        Any thought of yours that inflates your ego cannot possibly have come from the Holy Spirit.

Self Comes First

        Before attempting to convert he world, convert yourself first. That is, be holy yourself first. Then let your own family or community be your testing ground. If you are a saint to them, you are ready to convert the world for the Lord. Take care of yourself and you take care of the world.        

No Substitute for Christ

        When I was young, I had many dreams I wanted to realize. I was full of hope, believing that I could make everything happen. At an advanced age, I can now look back and get a good look at the past. There had been happy times and sad times, but the best thing that has ever happened to me is without a doubt knowing Christ. Whether my past was happy or not becomes irrelevant, since I already have the very best of all things. Living for anything else is only a temporary crutch, useful for those who do not know the true God. If you have not begun with Christ yet, you must consider ending with him.